Drivers from the Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin and Formula Renault BARC Championship got the first official testing mileage of 2005 under their belts today during the opening session of the pre-season at Snetterton in Norfolk.
Facing intermittent rain and snow showers, the Formula Renault UK drivers spent much of the morning getting to grips with the changeable conditions before sleet and snow blizzards set in for the day mid-way through the final afternoon session.
At the conclusion of the test, which was curtailed marginally early due to worsening conditions, Team AKA’s James Jakes (Leeds) came away with the best time of 1m 05.791 seconds, a 10th of a second faster than Team JLR’s Tom Kimber-Smith (Wokingham, Berkshire).
Swedish sensation Alex Storckenfeldt, a Formula Renault UK race winner last season, looked impressive on his return to these shores with the third quickest time for Team AKA, a lap of 1m 06.321 seconds.
Reigning ‘Graduate Cup’ Champion Sean McIntosh was fourth fastest for Team Firstair, the Canadian star two 100ths of a second quicker than Manor Motorsport’s Oliver Jarvis (Burwell, Cambridgeshire) in fifth position.
Fortec Motorsport’s Swedish driver Sebastian Hohenthal rounded out the top six with a time a further seven 100ths of a second outside Jarvis’ best, while Hillspeed’s Josh Weber (Tiverton, Devon) marked his return to the team with an impressive seventh fastest time of 1m 06.768 seconds.
Team JLR’s Stephen Simpson (Enfield, Middlesex) was eighth, Manor Motorsport’s Chinese driver Cheng Congfu was ninth and Venezuelan team-mate Rodolfo Gonzalez was 10th quickest.
Formula BMW convert James Sutton (New Barnet, Hertfordshire) ended the test in 12th position overall for Fortec while Irishman Emmett Queenan impressed for Team JVA with the 15th fastest time and a best lap of 1m 07.823 seconds.
Competitors from the Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin will remain at Snetterton tomorrow, Thursday, 3rd March, for a full day of exclusive testing.
Jackson heads BARC runners at Snetterton
Of the Formula Renault BARC Championship Club Class competitors who elected to take advantage of the opportunity of testing alongside their Formula Renault UK counterparts, WL Racing’s Cameron Jackson (Scampton, Lincolnshire) was by far the quickest driver with a best time of 1m 15.855 seconds during the category’s lunchtime session.
David Scott (Heathfield, Sussex) set the second fastest time of 1m 19.415 seconds with Logic Motorsport/X-Dream’s Martin Bloss (Andover, Hampshire) a further two seconds shy. JH Motorsport’s James Heffernan set the fourth fastest time of 1m 22.643 seconds, while Nino Piccoli was fifth having been forced to miss any track time during the best of the day’s conditions in session two following an earlier excursion off the circuit.
The last of the four Formula Renault BARC test sessions failed to commence due to increasingly bad snowfall.
Full official testing times available at www.msttiming.com
For all the latest Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin and Formula Renault BARC Championship news visit the official Renault Sport UK website www.renaultsport.co.uk built by Racecar
